Regional Government creates programme for development of extracurricular activities - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Educação e dos Assuntos Culturais

The Regional Secretary for Education, Sofia Ribeiro, announced the creation of a programme for the development of extracurricular activities, in partnership with local entities, "to enhance the skills of each student and promote their success."

The newly created programme will be implemented among preschool and elementary school students. It has a stipulated maximum budget of 300 thousand Euros this year for individual and collective entities throughout the Region.

According to the Secretary for Education, this resolution "stems from the fact that the promotion of educational success is achieved through multiple ways, beyond formal education."

The programme of the Government aims to promote non-formal and informal education. Accordingly, the development of this initiative falls within this context," she said.

According to the government official, this resolution creates the resources so that, in partnership with local entities such "as community centres, municipalities and even individuals," we can implement extracurricular activities. They will "not only promote culture, but also the psychic and motor development of students, or even complement their studies."

The resolution of the Government Council approving this support measure states that these initiatives enhance "the development of community initiative programmes in a school context, after school hours, in elementary schools and kindergartens." Furthermore, they will foster "the important mission of schools to stimulate socialisation" as well as increase "the support to families in the proper follow-up of students at these educational levels during working hours, promoting a social and educational approach.

Sofia Ribeiro explained that the next step is the regulation, through the creation of an ordinance establishing "mechanisms that can provide full transparency and fairness in the access of local entities to this programme."

Once this regulation is "duly approved and published," there will be "a widespread dissemination in the Region."

"We have been approached by entities that want to develop projects in their areas, but we lacked the resources, not only financial but, above all, the coordination with schools," she explained.

According to the Regional Secretary, the selection of proposals will be initially made by schools, "which are better qualified to verify the interest and suitability of the agents applying for these extracurricular activities."

"It does not make any sense that the Regional Secretary, a central governmental entity, be the one to verify the most relevant projects for each area. There are entities at a school level that are better suited to make such a selection."

Once selected by schools, the Regional Secretariat for Education will have "the final word."

The government official expects to receive proposals for the next school year.